All That Really Mattered
by Rosawyn
Summary: 'From a very young age, Viktor Krum was fascinated with Quidditch.  Well, not all of it, as he was too young to understand the rules, but the tiny round, bright and shiny, elusive Golden Snitch entranced him.'


****All That Really Mattered****

**A/N: A birthday present for the lovely Wordy (TheWordFountain) who said, "I'm not big on romance fics. I really like character development - Neville, Fleur, Lavender, Viktor, Cho, Cedric." Since I love Viktor and there really doesn't seem to be much love for him in the fandom, I decided to write a bit of a character piece for him, using the set of rhyming prompts I came up with some time back.**

**Though I sincerely tried to avoid any romantic pairings, I believe I may have inadvertently written Victor/Golden Snitch. lol!**

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><p><strong>Fascination<strong>

From a very young age, Viktor Krum was fascinated with Quidditch. Well, not all of it, as he was too young to understand the rules, but the tiny round, bright and shiny, elusive Golden Snitch entranced him. His father took him to his first game when he was five years old, and the Snitch flew past his ear. He fell out of his seat and hit his head trying to catch it.

**Agitation**

The first time Viktor saw the symbol Grindelwald had carved into the wall of Durmstrang Institute, it set his teeth on edge. No matter how many times he saw the symbol, he never got used to it; every time he walked past that wall, he was reminded of his grandfather's death, and his muscles tensed involuntarily.

**Education**

Viktor didn't particularly excel in any class, finding books and quills and parchment and long lectures frustrating, but he loved flying, and was very soon turning heads at Quidditch practice.

**Meditation**

Viktor's first Quidditch captain told him it could help to visualize himself succeeding in the sport, to imagine himself catching the Snitch. Viktor didn't tell the older boy, but he'd been imagining that his whole life.

**Jubilation**

The first time he caught the Snitch in an real Quidditch game, the stands erupted in cheers. But nothing could rival the joy he felt bubbling inside him as he held the bright golden ball in his hand.

**Indignation**

The first time Viktor saw another student with Grindelwald's symbol doodled on the spine of his textbook, he was shocked. But within the week, an alarming number of students had taken to drawing the symbol on their own books as well, and were even wearing it on their clothing. He could not go anywhere in the school without being reminded of the evil man who had murdered his grandfather, and these idiots seemed to actually _revere_ that monster! He wanted to punch them, to hex them – how could they choose to ignore recent history so blithely?

**Confrontation**

It wasn't difficult for Victor to find allies against the pro-Grindelwald fad; many at Dermstrang had lost relatives to the now imprisoned dark wizard. It was also surprisingly easy to teach the pro-Grindelwald group a lesson they wouldn't soon forget. They went from mocking to mewling in the space of minutes.

**Consternation**

As the larger but soundly defeated group of students cowered before him and his friends, Viktor demanded that they remove each and every instance of Grindelwald's symbol from their books and clothing. They were only too willing to comply.

**Speculation**

Viktor wondered how Grindelwald himself had managed to recruit competent followers, considering the types who seemed eager to follow him now. He could never come up with a satisfactory answer to the question. But then, abstract thinking was never one of Viktor's strengths; he'd much rather be focused on the sturdy wood of the broomstick in his hands, the crisp autumn air rushing past his ears, the brilliant flash of the Golden Snitch as it swooped and bobbed just out of his reach.

**Trepidation**

With two bludgers coming at him from opposite angels, what Viktor feared most was allowing the Golden Snitch to slip through his fingers. Perhaps the bludgers were inevitable, but losing the game was not.

**Medication**

Viktor had taken a bludger to the head (where _were_ those beaters when he needed them?) and spent the night in the infirmary for observation. The potion the healer had made him drink was foul and his head still hurt as though the bludger was trapped inside his skull trying to get out. But he had caught the Snitch and won the game; that's all that really mattered.

**Adoration**

Even before he became world famous, Viktor attracted an ever-increasing fan base at his own school. After he won a match for his team, the entire dining hall would stand to their feet clapping and cheering when he walked in, even those who had played on the opposing team. But nothing could have prepared him for the first time he flew onto the pitch for a professional Quidditch game—his brand new uniform still feeling stiff around his shoulders—and heard the multitude of fans roaring "Krum! Krum! Krum!"

**Fabrication**

Even before he was made a Triwizard Champion, the magical media often took great liberties when reporting on his games and his character. One newspaper even went so far as to suggest Viktor and his entire family had supported Grindelwald in the war, and that Viktor had been amongst the group of pro-Grindelwald students at Durmstrang. Viktor and his most loyal friends gathered as many copies of the newspaper as they could find and publicly burned them.


End file.
